Public Republic

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the photographer Claude McCoy

What does photography give you?

The possibility of capturing a moment in time visually, whether it’s a beautiful landscape or flower or a moment with others that I want to remember.

Why do you prefer to create 3D pictures?

I can create complex compositions in a fraction of the time it would take to create them by hand. The computer also allows me to experiment with light, objects, and textures to test their effect in a short period of time.

Is there any similarity between photography and psychiatry?

Both must deal with things accurately as they are, good, bad, ugly or beautiful.

How does the artistic expression of yourself enrich your everyday life?

There is an intellectual satisfaction in mastering the tools of image creation as well as the challenge of creating an attractive image. If others appreciate my images it is like savoring the icing on a delicious cake.

Through your profession you have been helping people; do you have any particular goal to achieve in this respect by creating your images?

Creating images provides me intellectual and creative challenges and there is pleasure in doing this especially if others like my work. However, in the big picture of things, making beautiful or interesting images isn’t very important.

What is the deepest mystery of the human mind?

I believe it is the question that all must face. For me it is the question of what am I? Why am I here? Where am I headed? In other words, where do I fit in the big picture of things? Is existence accidental or is it purposeful?

I believe it is purposeful. Why would you talk to a counselor about what is meaningful in your life if life in fact was accidental and purposeless. The only one that can give true meaning to existence is God!

If you can take a picture of the mind what it would look like?

In most instances you would find a human being who is acting as if they were a god by attempting to create their life in the way that seems right. In our society if someone says they are a “god”, we call people in white coats and send them off to a “funny farm” (mental hospital).

If we examine normally thinking people, they are in fact acting like a god in the sense that they are attempting to create their own “life”. They are acting as if life is a “do it yourself” project and attempting to create their own life in the way that seems right.

Proverbs 16:25 (King James Version) “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

What are the main points in your personal philosophy?

It may sound inane but I believe life is about “Life”. Most people come for counseling because they believe some person or circumstance has interfered with the creation of, or acquisition of, or apprehension of their “life” for today. Most also believe there are degrees of life and they are seeking counseling because they want more degrees of life. Actually there are no degrees of life.

“Life” is all or none. A person cannot be half alive. “Life” can be likened to white light. If you pass white light through a prism unto a piece of white paper you get all the colors of the rainbow. And so it is with “Life”. “Life” is composed of a whole series of constituent elements that taken together make up”Life”.

Normal people are all acting as if life is a “do it yourself” project, i.e. a person needs to create their own life. Human beings are not gods and can’t create any life at all! When Christ was here 2000 years ago He said He was the “Way”, the “Truth”, and the “Life”. He was the “Way” as opposed to the way that seems right.

He said “you shall know the “Truth” and the “Truth” shall set you free! Free from what? Bondage. What bondage? To fear. What fear? The fear that you are not going to be able to create or acquire your life. Finally Christ stated he was “The Life”.

I believe God “Is” and it is He who gives meaning to existence and He alone is our “Life” source. What most people think is “Life” is not life at all but rather is meant to be blessings in addition to life. This includes intellectual pursuits, artistic endeavors, power, fame, money, pleasure, a spouse, children, health, etc. etc.

Christ said he was the “Life”. For the fortunate few who are pursuing “Truth” life is about getting to know God! My personal philosophy is summed up in the following verse from the Bible:
John 3:16 (King James Version) “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Biography:

Claude McCoy is a 75 year old semiretired psychiatrist who finally has the time to pursue his childhood love of artistic expression. His 9th grade art teacher gave him “A” grades in art but discouraged him from pursuing a career in art. He followed her advice and headed in a different direction for his career.

He never lost his love of artistic expression. In college he took art courses to improve his grade point. Now, as a senior and semi-retired, he is free to pursue his artistic thirst. He is currently working in two areas. He constructs fantasy and sci-fi images and landscapes using a 3D program called Bryce.

Secondly he uses a program called Artmatic to create algorithmic abstract art images. The process of creating these algorithmic abstract art prints involves creating a tree of interconnecting algorithmic (mathematical) modules and then examining multitudes of iterations they can produce until the “keeper” image appears.